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Serrania deRonda
The
November 2025
Ronda has struck
the imagination of poets, artists, bullfighters and musicians for thousands of years, writes Dilip Kuner
R
Take a winter trip to the CAPTURED! stunning mountain town of See special Ronda on page 7
ONDA doesn’t just appear; it confronts you. As the road city leaps into view,bends, this captivating rising like a white surrounded by pearl the rugged Andalucian countryside. You know you are this is confirmed arriving somewhere special and when you begin to geography: a hilltown understand its da, meaning literally named by the Romans as ArunBut Ronda, which ‘surrounded by mountains’. in every direction, is indeed encircled by sierras city being hewn in is also a geologist’s dream, the two by a deep chasm the Guadalevin River. carved by This adds to its threads that make complex history. Where the up the multicoloured Andalucia - Moorish fabric of architecture, Roman deur, bullfighting, granpoets and outlaws intertwine. all happily Ronda is more than a destination; chronicle where its it’s a living stones feel the weight turies of stories. of cenThe visceral experience Tajo, the breathtaking of Ronda begins with the gorge that rips through centre and spreads its out into a deep valley Spanning this monumental below. divide is the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge). It’s the physical and heart of the city spiritual feeling the sheer,and you can’t go near it without dizzying height.
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Cops and robbers EE-Ecstasy DRAMATIC: Extraordinary
view of the Tajo gorge
from above, while
(top right) the Foreign
Legion carries a
virgin over the Puente
Secret
Nuevo at Easter
The bridge’s very existence is rooted tating secret. Before in a devasa precarious woodenthis stone marvel stood here, trestle-bridge was link across the 300-foot the only In 1740, that wooden drop. structure failed, and nocent Rondeños 50 inplunged to their deaths. The 40 years it took engineering; it was to reconstruct it wasn’t just sure the community an act of collective will to enToday, it stands as would never be divided again. a testament to resilience, fering views so spectacular that locals claim, ofbirds fly at the feet ‘the Ronda’s layout is of those who look out’. a simple historical udad (the Old Town map: La Cisits on the south and former Moorish medina) rinthine, while El side, looking ancient and labyMercadillo (the modern cial district) sits on commerThen down below, the north. Almocobar gate, outside the charming Arabic sits the San Francisco bourhood alongside neighdefended the entire the medieval walls that once fortress. Long before the Puente Nuevo, Ronda was holding the line: The already the early importance Celtic tribe, the Bastuli, knew perhaps even along of this rocky outcrop for trade, When the Romans ancient Atlantic routes. arrived, the city in stature. They developed quickly grew a unique ment colony: the defensible Arunda ‘twin’ settleand the even Continues overleaf
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SPAIN’S Interior Ministry has finally clarified that British residents holding a TIE card MUST not use the new Entry Exit System (EES) queues when entering or leaving the country. It now advises that UK nationals are exempt from the torturous queues so long as they hold a valid residence document – such as a TIE. Instead, they should go to a staffed passport booth and show both their passport and TIE card. It brings long-awaited clarity for tens of thousands of British residents after weeks of contradictory guidance from different authorities.
TIE
The Policia Nacional in Malaga had already settled on telling residents with a TIE to avoid the EES kiosks after weeks of officers seeming to have no clue as to what was the official line. The guidance is especially timely with the Christmas season upon us, with the government warning that Brits with TIEs who mistakenly pass through the EES kiosks will end up being registered as tourists. This could play havoc as they will be logged under the 90 day rule. The result could be future flags for overstaying, delays at the border or the need to formally request deletion or correction of their EES record.
Phone scammers have been preying on fellow expats across Spain posing as police and bank officials, an Olive Press investigation has revealed A BULGARIAN expat has told the Olive Press how phone scammers masquerading as police stole €10,000 from her in the run up to Black Friday. Also posing as ‘Bank of Spain’ officials she was talked into moving the money after being told a relative was under an Interpol investigation and had illegally obtained power of attorney over her bank account. The mother-of-two, based in Valencia, was advised to urgently transfer the funds to a ‘safe’ account linked to the Bank of Spain, or face being dragged into the fraud probe. “They told me if I did not collaborate I might end up in jail,” Elena Petrova, 49, told the Olive Press. Her ordeal started when she received a call from a woman who spoke to her in Bulgarian – though with a hint of an accent she identified as Russian. Masquerading as a ‘chief detective’ with the National Police, the woman spoke slowly and was ‘very convincing’. A call from the alleged bank official
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soon followed, ratcheting up the pressure on her to wire the funds to a Swiss bank account. Elena requested multiple times they speak in Spanish, but the fraudsters insisted that because Interpol was involved, all communication had to be conducted in Bulgarian.
Forged
The scammers also sent the victim a photo of a Spanish police ID and a document bearing a Bank of Spain watermark (below) – both forged. “It was terrifying,” Elena continued. “They basically kept threatening me until I gave up.” After parting with the money and realising she had fallen victim to a scam, she reported the case to Valencia’s National police, who have now launched a probe into the matter. It soon emerged she is far from the only victim of the scammers,
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SCAMMERS: WhatsApp messages from the criminals to Elena
with at least three people losing €45,000 between them recently We understand the conmen have been targeting multiple Bulgarian and Russian nationals based in Spain. In each case they demand urgent transfers of several thousand euros to foreign bank accounts, with victims subjected to intense psychological pressure, including threats. In one case, a scammer sent a victim a chilling message: “How are you going to look your children in the eye if you lose all your money?” We have managed to uncover two similar cases in Cantabria, in which €38,000, and the recent one in Valencia. Elena told the Olive Press she is angry her bank, La Caixa, has done ‘absolutely nothing’ to help her. ‘Nor did they try to protect me’. The bank she sent the money to,
Swissquote, replied they were investigating the case – though Elena was never put through to the bank’s fraud specialists and could only speak to customer service. Even more audaciously, a day after she made the transfer to the Swiss bank the fraudsters came back for more… this time via text, insisting she send more money. Elena refused, insisting the bogus officials meet her in Valencia, hoping she could expose them.
Innocent
The scammers then threatened her, writing: “What if you cannot prove you are innocent? Make money while in jail? Are you going to pay off your debt from there?” This time, the fake officer agreed to Elena’s request to communicate in Spanish, but he would never answer calls and the texts appear to have been run through an AI translator. Cyber-crime in Spain has surged in recent years, reflecting a growing national security and public-safety challenge. According to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, more than 350,000 people were hit with cyber-crimes in 2023, with the bulk of these cases involving online scams, phishing, or fraudulent financial operations. Prosecutions continue to lag behind – only about 14% of cyber-crime cases were solved in 2023, even though police arrested or investigated roughly 17,000 people that year. National police have warned never to trust unknown callers who demand urgent transfers of money. “When in doubt, always check your own bank first,” said a spokesman.
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